Motorized Trail Riding

The Maverick Trail for Motorized Vehicles

The Maverick Trail is a motorized vehicle trail used by off-road motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and off-highway vehicles (OHVs) in the summer and snowmobiles and OHVs in the winter. Roughly 60 miles in length, the trail opened between Clay Springs and Pinetop-Lakeside in 2010. For the most part, it is rugged and hard-packed terrain.

The Maverick Trail has five trailheads:

Burton

Clay Springs

Panorama Trailhead

Sky-Hi

Timber Mesa

Trailheads provide a staging area and direct access to gated trails, most of which are limited to machines less than 50 inches in width, though some trails can accommodate machines as wide as 60 inches.

Partner Agencies

The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division issues OHV decals, certificates of title, registrations, and license plates. The U.S. Forest Service enforces rules and regulations to ensure safe use. A local volunteer group, the White Mountains Open Trails Association, collaborates with the forest service to construct and maintain trails and extensions as they are added.

The White Mountain Open Trails Association (WMOTA) is an adult-oriented group committed to the creation and preservation of trails, promoting ATV riding as a safe and enjoyable adult-oriented activity, and disseminating information to the public about safe and ethical use of OHV trails.

More Information

Snowmobile Through Snow-Packed, Groomed Trails

Fans of the Maverick Trail in the summer won’t recognize the place with its covered in snowpack and tracks from the steady stream of winter visitors. On board your snow machine, duck under low-hanging branches, heavy with new snow and leave your temporary mark in the pristine whiteness.

Start at the Clay Springs trailhead and spend a full day making the 120-mile round-trip to Pinetop-Lakeside, or opt for a shorter ride by starting at one of the in-between trailheads. The White Mountains motorized trail has been constructed and is maintained through a collaborative effort between the U.S. Forest Service and White Mountain Open Trails Association (WMOTA), a nonprofit, volunteer group of adults committed to safe riding and education.

New trail extensions are planned to the Round Valley and Heber-Overgaard areas, with spurs into the nearby towns.